His eyes burned with a silent fury as he slowly stood up. He pressed his hands into his dark, wooden desk, and I felt myself tense up. Wrong question. Wrong amount of sass. Wrong… everything.
“I want you to listen closely, Alianna. Because I’m only going to say it once. Part of being on one’s own is being a generally honest and capable adult. Willing to keep their word. And after the little stunt you pulled that worried both me and your mother to death, you’ve shown us you’re not capable of either traits. So, you should be focusing on building our trust back rather than delving into the dangerous life you speak of. Because next time, I might not be so generous with my reaction.”
I nodded softly. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, consider the offer I’ve made. Building you a place on the property to give you a little more privacy. I understand women need it, and I’m more than willing to provide it. Here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, I have work to do if there’s nothing else.”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered.
I stood up from the chair with tears in my eyes. And the second I turned my back to him, I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I slipped out his office door, rushing across the foyer. Not giving any thought to Luca or wherever the hell he might have been. I gripped the front door to the house and threw it open before grabbing my purse. My keys. My sunglasses. I didn’t know where the hell I was going, but I wasn’t staying here.
However, it wasn’t until I got to my car that I saw a hand come down onto the door. Closing my attempts to open it before I caught his reflection in the window.
“What do you want?” I asked curtly.
“How about we go get a drink? My treat,” Luca said.
I sighed as I stood up, rolling my shoulders back. Walking with confidence, even though I felt like a deflated racehorse. Luca guided me to his SUV and opened my door, then offered me his hand to help. A hand I didn’t take. I flopped down into the seat and buckled myself in, gazing out the window as tears dripped down beneath the rim of my sunglasses.
“Aren’t you worried about what people might think if we’re sharing a drink?” I asked.
He cranked the SUV up and backed it down the driveway before he spoke up.
“Everyone around town knows I’m your security. If anything, I’ll tell them you roped me into it,” he said.
And when I looked over at him, he winked at me. Sending sparks igniting through the marrow of my bones.
“You would,” I murmured, a grin spreading across my cheeks.
“There’s that smile,” he said.
He drove me through the city and we eventually ended up at a place called Breakers. On the outside, it didn’t look like any bar I’d ever been to before. But, on the inside, it was clean and polished. Nice high-top tables and comfortable-looking booths. A lit-up back bar with every top-shelf liquor imaginable. A small menu of tailored and specialty items. Cuisine created for the time of the year.
Luca chose a booth in the corner of the place for us to sit. With his back to the wall so he could face the entrance and both side exits.
Typical of a security man. But still, it was flattering.
“Welcome to Breakers, what can I get you two started with?”
I looked up at the waiter before removing my sunglasses and wiping at my still-wet eyes.
“I’ll have a--.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” the waiter asked.
I sighed. “Sure.”
“We have the perfect drink for when someone comes in here not feeling… quite right.”
“Oh?” I asked.
“Mhm. It’s called ‘Rays of Sunshine’. If you’re a tequila person, you’ll love it.”
I shrugged. “Sure. Fine. I’ll have one of those and a small order of French fries, please.”
“And for you?” he asked Luca.
“I’ll have a pint of your seasonal tap house brew. Thanks,” he said.
“It’s a great brew. I’ve had one every night after my shift. I’ll put those orders in and get your drinks out soon.”
“Thank you,” I said.
And after nodding his head in appreciation, he left us alone to talk.
“So, do you want--?”
“You know what I can’t stand about my father?” I asked.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Luca said, grinning.
“I can’t stand the fact that he comes to my defense when he doesn’t agree with something my mother wants me to do, but he’s more than willing to force me into his own agenda. I mean, really. Come on. The only thing Mom wanted me to do was date and get married. And my father was vehemently opposed to it. So much so that he paid for my music degree. I mean, outright paid upfront all four fucking years of my degree.”
“Wow,” he said.
“What the hell did he think I was going to do with that degree after I graduated!? It wasn’t just some useless piece of paper to pass the time for four and a half years. Summers, too. Winter break performances. Spring break traveling trips to perform in places like Ireland and Sydney and shit like that.”
“Sounds like you had a hell of a college career.”
“I did! And everywhere I went, people told me I had a great future in performing. Which only bolstered my own confidence. No, I’m not the best cellist. But, I’m a damn good one. Even I know that. So now, after footing all this money for this degree and practically throwing himself on the train tracks to make sure Mom didn’t marry me off to the first available suitor, and now I figure out he’s got his own fucking agenda!”
“Fathers usually do,” he said.
“Building me a guesthouse on the property? Working in that fucking restaurant? Is my father insane!? It’s like he doesn’t want me to have a life outside of him. Outside of being his daughter. At all. And in some lights, that’s pretty disgusting. Like some unhealthy relationship between a father and his daughter. Don’t you think?”
“He might just want to keep you safe.”
“Are you on his side or mine?”
“I’m not on any side. Just listening,” he said.
“At any rate, there are plenty of ways to keep me safe while I’m still off on my own. Things I’d be totally okay with. Like a security system he’s got access to, so he knows if something’s going off in my place. Dropping by for dinners I cook. And it isn’t like I can’t come stay for a weekend at their place. I mean, come on! I’d even let the man put a damn GPS on my fucking car. You know, much like you did with my phone. Asshole.”
He grinned. “And it came in handy. Because think of the trouble we both would’ve been in had I not been able to find you.”
I sighed. “I just want my own life. I mean, I’ve got a trust fund I can’t even use because I don’t have any use for it. At all. Because Daddy Dearest is still providing everything. I’m more than capable of living on my own. And yes, not going home immediately was probably a stupid move. But, if you really want to think about it, Giana and I weren’t at that condo for fifteen or twenty minutes before my father freaked the hell out on you.”
“You’ve got a point there,” he said.
“And then, he wants to turn around and pin it on me. Tell me I’m not trustworthy and I don’t keep my word. I’ve done everything he’s ever asked of me. Period. End of story. Without question. And now, when I want my own life outside of the one he’s apparently got dreamt up for me, too, I’m suddenly an untrustworthy slut.”
“You’re hardly a slut, Alianna.”
“Well, he’s making me feel like one. Like, the second I move out I’m going to be bringing random dudes’ home, spreading my legs for them, and getting pregnant with three different baby daddies and shaming the Russo name forever,” I said, scoffing.
Our drinks touched down in front of us before the waiter set my French fries down.
“Can I get you two anything else?” he asked.
“Just keep the drinks coming,” I murmured.
“I can do
that. I hope you two enjoy.”
Then, as the waiter walked away, I leaned heavily back into the cushions of the booth.
“You’ve got a lot of good points when it comes to living on your own. You're a good woman, Alianna. A strong woman. And women your age are out on their own. So, I can see how you’d feel stunted in that regard. Despite what happened a couple weeks ago, you deserve your own life. Outside of the expectations of your parents,” Luca said.
My eyes slowly panned out the window as I reached for my drink.
“But, this is the first time where I’ve ever felt neither of them are on my side. And I don’t know what to do with that,” I said softly.
I took a sip of my drink and it tasted fantastic. One sip turned into two, and soon the entire thing was gone. The waiter promptly replaced it with another one on the table, and in between the few French fries I munched on, the alcohol filled my gut. Luca and I sat in silence as my mind swirled. I felt his foot slipping against mine, trying to provide comfort wherever he could. His leg rested against my knee. I felt his foot dwarfing mine as his other foot came along, resting against me, too.
And as a flush filled my cheeks, I finally looked over at Luca.
“I don’t like seeing you this way. You’re always so bright and cheerful,” he said.
I shrugged. “Sorry I can’t provide.”
“What can I do?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Buy me a private island where my father can’t find me?”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“The island, or my father not finding me?”
Luca chuckled and it caused a small smile to trickle across my cheeks.
“There’s that smile,” he said softly.
And out of nowhere, I felt his foot softly stroking my bare leg.
Our eyes connected and I watched him sip his beer. Completely cool and calm on the outside, but practically fondling me with his boots underneath the booth. I eyed him carefully, trying to figure out what his endgame was. What the point of taking me out was.
Then, as his eyes held mine, he held up his hand for the check.
“I can cover it,” I said.
“I’ve got it. It’s fine.”
The check came to the table and I watched him pull out a couple of twenties. He placed them down, then took out a ten for good measure. It was odd, because I didn’t think people carried cash on them nowadays. But, Luca was nothing, if not different. He reached for my hand as his feet pulled away, standing up before helping me to my feet.
I stumbled getting up, too. And he was there to catch me.
Against his swollen, strong, warm body.
“Sorry. I’m sorry,” I said, clearing my throat.
I felt him hold onto me a little too tightly, though. A little longer than usual. It wasn’t until I completely backed away that his hands fell from my body, and I felt the flush in my cheeks trickle down my neck. Trickle down my back. Trickle through my breasts until my peaks puckered against my bra.
I chanced a look up into his eyes and found that intense gaze of his burrowing into me. Studying me. Trying to get a read on me.
Then, he offered me his hand.
And silently, without a second thought, I took it.
11
Luca
The ride to my home was silent. The walk up to my third-floor apartment within the brownstone was silent. Even as we walked into my studio apartment, silence still hung between us. She didn’t protest, but she didn’t offer up what she was thinking, either.
And my only hope was that I wasn’t crossing any boundaries.
My studio apartment did what it needed. The place was functional, but that was about all it was. I closed the door and locked it, then turned around to find Alianna’s eyes dancing over my place. Barely nine hundred square feet, I’d gotten a steal of a deal on it. Especially for New York City. To my left, there was a partition that separated the small living room from my bedroom. My clothes all hung on a rack in the corner to my right, next to the couch so I could watch television while getting ready in the morning. The kitchen was in the back, to the right. Across from the only other door in the apartment, which led into the small bathroom I had. It was small, but I made it work. And it was mine, finally something of my own.
“Want another drink?” I asked.
I pierced the silence between us, watching as Alianna turned around. She leaned against the small kitchen table next to the only window my apartment afforded, and I watched her nod her head. I walked over to my freezer and pulled out the whiskey I kept in there. One of the finest vintages I could find in the whole of the city. I poured us each a finger of it in some glasses, then capped it off and stuffed it back into the freezer.
And when I handed Alianna her drink, our fingers touched.
The smallest touch that throbbed my cock against my pants.
“So, this is your place,” she said.
I nodded. “It is.”
“A bit small, yeah?”
“It’s cheap, though.”
“How cheap? If you don’t mind me asking, that is,” she said.
“Six hundred a month.”
She paused. “You’re only paying six hundred a month to rent in New York City!?!”
I grinned. “Told the landlord I’d do my own fixing of the apartment if things broke. That I’d spruce it up myself with paint and things like that. The place was pretty rundown when I found it. But, this kind of rent enables me to still keep up with my mother’s bills while saving back for a permanent place of my own one day.”
“You’re a good man, you know that?”
I shrugged. “I try to be. Though, I’m not sure you would’ve called me that a couple weeks ago.”
“Yeah, about that,” she said, trailing off.
I took a sip of my drink. “I’m sorry for being so harsh with you. I guess I was worried about what had happened to you.”
“You were worried about me?”
“Yeah. I mean, that’s my job, right?”
“Oh.”
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. I mean, I’m sorry, too. You know, for yelling at you and generally ignoring you for the past… however long it’s been, I don’t know anymore.”
I chuckled. “Relax, Alianna. You’re safe here, and you aren’t under your father’s watchful glare right now. Take some deep breaths. Enjoy the silence.”
“I mean, you’re technically an extension of my father’s watchful glare.”
“Hopefully you feel at least somewhat comfortable with me, though. Since you didn’t tell me to turn the hell around and go back to your place once we pulled up.”
She giggled. “I suppose I am, yes.”
She fluttered her eyes up at me and I felt my gut lurch. I knew this was a bad idea. Especially after the small touches we kept giving one another at the bar. But, Alianna needed a place to go to decompress. And I was more than willing to offer up my personal space in order for her to get hers in order. I tipped back the rest of my whiskey before putting the glass in the sink. Alianna followed in stride, though she let out a small cough before it was all said and done.
“Go down the wrong pipe?” I asked.
“Just a bit strong. Woo,” she said, softly.
I smiled at her as her eyes found mine again, and I felt that same punch to my gut.
“Wanna give me the grand tour?” Alianna asked.
I shrugged. “Well, this is the kitchen. With a table for two by the only window this place has. Through that door is the bathroom, and behind that partition is my bedroom. That’s the living room over there, and that concludes the monumental tour of my place.”
She laughed softly. “Wow. You’ve really got that down. You give women tours of your place a lot?”
“Not at all, actually.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Never been that kind of guy. I don’t bring people I don’t know and trust back to my place. Just how I’ve a
lways been.”
“But, you don’t know me very well.”
“I trust you, though. So, there’s that.”
“Wait, you--trust me?” she asked.
I nodded slowly as I reached out for her hand.
“Yes, Alianna. I do.”
I wrapped my fingers around her hand and she let me pull her toward my body. She took one step. Then, two. And soon, I felt the soft heat of her body against me. Her head tilted back to keep my eyes in view, and I lost myself in her gorgeous stare. Maybe it was the alcohol talking. Or maybe, it was the way the moonlight still found her through the tiny window of my apartment. Maybe it was the way she licked her lips. Or the way she bit down onto it. Or the way her eyes danced between mine before falling to my own lips.
Either way, my face fell closer to hers. Her body pressed closer to mine.
And soon, our lips touched. Filling my body with electricity and shooting fire through my veins.
I knew it was wrong. I knew it was going directly against my boss’s orders. And I knew if Mr. Russo ever found out, I was a dead man. But, I couldn't keep my hands off her. The second our lips connected, my hands fell to her hips. I caressed up her waist. All the way up her arms. Until my hands cupped her cheeks and my tongue found its bed against her own.
And the way she moaned so sweetly down the back of my throat made my cock grow even thicker.
I scooped her into my arms, walking her out of the kitchen. I felt her step out of her heels, then I took the liberty of scooping her into my arms. She squealed and giggled. Her arms wrapped around me as I walked her over to my bed. We dipped behind the partition and I laid her down, ready to explore her with my lips. She sighed as my mouth connected with her neck. Her hands ran through my hair as my teeth raked down her pulse point. She pulled my shirt over my head, my lips kissing over the clothed valley of her breasts.
I mouthed over where I knew her puckered nipples were, and she arched closer against me.
“Oh,” she moaned.
I slowly stripped her down, taking my time unwrapping this beautiful gift she was about to give me. I tossed her clothes off to the side, marveling the beauty of her body. The length of her toned legs. The softness of her stomach. The perfect handfuls of her breasts that filled my palms and poured just right through the slats of my fingers. I massaged them. I kissed them. I wrapped my warm lips around them as the smell of her womanhood permeated the corners of the room. I kissed down her body. I held her leg up to my mouth as I sucked and licked. Nibbled and explored. Kissed and ran my tongue down the length of them. Until I’d had my fill.
Luca: Sinful Shadows Mafia #1 Page 7